Syria's foreign minister says Damascus is prepared to exchange prisoners with the rebel camp and would take swift steps towards doing so.
"I informed (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei) Lavrov of our principled position in favour of an agreement to exchange those held in Syrian prisons for those taken by the other side," Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said following talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow.
"We are ready to exchange lists and develop the necessary mechanism for accomplishing these goals."
Muallem also said the Syrian government supported a Russian-US plan for a regional ceasefire in the embattled northern city of Aleppo.
Muallem said he had asked his Russian counterpart for help to secure a truce in the city undergoing fierce battles for control between rival Islamist groups and government forces.
